Saint Arnold Brewing used leap day as a marketing opportunity (did you?)

Breweries need a grab bag of marketing tools to compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace. How do you stand out? In fact, how can you can stand out this week? What’s coming up? What interesting event or yearly tradition can you capitalize on to make more revenue? I mean, would President’s Day even exist without car sales?

Let Saint Arnold Brewing Co. show you how it’s done. Today, for many craft beer fans in Texas and Louisiana, leap day 2016 will be devoted to hunting for a special brew produced by Saint Arnold Brewing. The oldest craft brewery in Texas coincided the release of its latest edition in the Divine Reserve Series — an Adambier described as a smoky German barleywine — in hopes of creating extra buzz. From the press release:

“Leap Day is a lot like the beers of the Divine Reserve Series — it doesn’t come around very often, so when it does you should take advantage of it,” said Saint Arnold Founder/Brewer Brock Wagner.

For a while now, Saint Arnold has been using the Divine Reserve brand to generate excitement and social interaction from fans. When new editions are released, the craft beer community is encouraged to use social media to help each other locate where Divine Reserve has been spotted. The hashtags (#DR16 this year), comments and insights are then posted up on Saint Arnold’s Facebook page. It’s just another way to cleverly communicate with your repeat supporters.

To do our part with the search, here’s a few tips: Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 16 will be available in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles, in 22-ounce bottles and on tap in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and other select markets in Texas and Louisiana. According to the press release:

Although the Adambier style was added to the Great American Beer Festival as recently as 2013, it actually is a beer style that was popular in Dortmund, Germany, about 200 years ago. It fell out of favor when German beer drinkers began gravitating toward Pilsners and Munich-style lagers. The style is making a bit of a comeback from obscurity as craft brewers explore beer styles that have disappeared.

Consistent with the style, Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 16 is a full bodied beer. The use of Rauchmalt contributes a smoked wood aroma. Best enjoyed at 50 degrees to 55 degrees, a subtle Noble hop aroma and a slight caramel character become more prominent as the beer warms up, and the smoked malt adds a layer of complexity. Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 16’s moderately-high bitterness is balanced nicely by its residual malty sweetness. This is a beer that will age nicely for those who enjoy cellaring Divine Reserves.